Two days aft a four-member unit of astronauts returned to Earth, pursuing a six-month deployment to the International Space Station, SpaceX launched different unit to the orbiting outpost.
The members of Crew-3 — the 3rd authoritative radical of astronauts launched by the Hawthorne aerospace institution nether NASA’s Commercial Crew Program — took formation from Cape Canaveral successful Florida astatine 6:03 p.m. California clip connected Wednesday, Nov. 10.
The unit was launched successful the SpaceX Crew Dragon Endurance, powered into abstraction by a Falcon 9 rocket. After the launch, the archetypal signifier of the Falcon 9 rocket returned to Earth, landing connected the SpaceX droneship “Just Read the Instructions” floating successful the Atlantic Ocean. SpaceX tin reuse the rocket during aboriginal missions.
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon flies down the clouds aft assistance disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
A dilatory shutter velocity captures a streak of airy from the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket engines aft assistance disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon spacecraft lifts disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon flies into the clouds aft assistance disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon flies into the clouds aft assistance disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket with the Crew Dragon flies down the clouds aft assistance disconnected with 4 astronauts connected committee from motorboat pad 39A astatine the Kennedy Space Center connected November 10, 2021 successful Cape Canaveral, Florida. The Crew-3 ngo is flying to the International Space Station. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The members of Crew-3 are NASA astronauts Raja Chari, ngo commander; Tom Marshburn, pilot; and Kayla Barron, ngo specialist; on with European Space Agency astronaut Matthias Maurer, besides a ngo specialist.
The motorboat of the Crew-3 ngo had been delayed repeatedly, doubly due to the fact that of atrocious upwind astatine Cape Canaveral and erstwhile due to the fact that of a insignificant aesculapian contented — not COVID-related — involving 1 of the astronauts.
On Monday, the members of SpaceX Crew-2 returned to Earth pursuing their deployment to the Space Station. Flying connected the Crew Dragon capsule Endeavour, the unit departed the abstraction presumption astir 11 a.m. California time, and the vessel splashed down successful the water disconnected the seashore of Florida astir 8 1/2 hours later.
The astronauts successful SpaceX’s Crew-2 were NASA astronauts Megan McArthur and Shane Kimbrough, Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide and European Space Agency astronaut Thomas Pesquet.
McArthur is simply a UCLA aerospace engineering postgraduate who has a doctorate successful oceanography from UC San Diego, wherever she was a researcher astatine the Scripps Institution of Oceanography.